Sanatan Hindus are overjoyed at the message of arrival of goddess Durga
The biggest religious festival of the Hindus is the autumn festival. However, due to the Corona pandemic this year, it has been decided to celebrate the only as the Durga Puja, the largest religious event of the Hindu community in the country. In other words, this time there will be no festival, only worship. Still all the arrangements for the autumn Durga Puja have been completed in Khulna to make the autumn season memorable. Just everybody is waiting for the last moment to welcome the goddess.
On Tuesday (October 20) the last preparations were seen in the mandapa of Khulna. According to the hygiene rules, the artists are scratching the mandapa and the last brush on the idol. This time Durga Puja will be held in 978 mandapas in Khulna. Of these, Durga Puja will be held in 842 mandapas in 9 upazilas of Khulna and in 136 mandapas in Khulna metropolis.
The Durga puja will begin on Wednesday (October 21) in the middle of Mahapanchami. The biggest religious festival of the Sanatan community will begin on October 22 with the Shasthi and end on October 26 through the immersion. However, this time there is no gorgeous lighting, fair, arati, crowd gathering or any competition. Worship rituals will be performed in the temple premises and mandapas in accordance with all kinds of hygiene rules.
Babu Prashant Kundu, general secretary of the Khulna metropolitan unit of the Puja Udjapan Parishad, said, "We will not be able to celebrate the festival in natural mood this year because of Corona." Even if it is not a festival, worship will be fine. During the corona period, the Puja will be performed only following the religious rites, which will be limited to the temple premises and mandapas.
He further said that due to the global pandemic, the Bangladesh Central Puja Celebration Committee has instructed to celebrate Puja on a limited scale.
The directive stated that the security of each temple should be ensured from the time the idol is made to the end of the Puja, the devotees and visitors should be disinfected, everyone should wear a mask; maintain a minimum physical distance of three feet between the visitors, and separate arrangements for men and women to visit the Puja mandapas. To do this, you need to have more volunteers. In addition, the body of the suspected visitors should be searched. Fireworks and crackers should be avoided. CCTV cameras should be kept in the Puja mandapas. The guidelines also stated that no songs other than devotional music should be played, no mic or PA set should be used, no visitors should be present in the Puja mandapas for extra long periods of time and visitors should be discouraged from entering after the evening break.
The idol artisans of the mandapas said that every year during the Puja, we do not have time to take a bath due to work pressure. This time the situation is completely opposite. This time the work is much less than other times. Since Puja is being done on a small scale, our budget is also much less. This time of year is waiting for the whole year. This time only one prayer, may we be saved from corona quickly.
Khulna Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Helal Hossain said that all preparations have been made for the celebration of Durga Puja in compliance with the health rules. Our magistrates will visit every mandapas and keep a watchful eye on all security issues. I hope that all the arrangements will end smoothly in a religious atmosphere of religious solemnity, friendship, peace and joy.
Khulna Superintendent of Police SM Shafiullah said extra security has been arranged this year on the occasion of Durga Puja. Mobile duty and striking force will be strengthened to ensure the safety of all during the Puja. No one will be allowed to organize anything outside the rules this time. The law enforcement forces have been deployed in the Puja mandapas for the Durga Puja, recruitment of volunteers, opening of control rooms, installation of CCTVs if necessary, non-use of loud sound devices and immersion of idols, he said.